Three
1942 Words
Eve’s POV
Before I could recover from the shock of what I’d just done, Catleya came running to my side, grabbing my arm and squealing louder than the crowd around us, and I nearly died of embarrassment.
“Oh my goodness, Eve! He kissed you like in dramas! Not a peck, a possession! Do you even know what that means?!”
“It means he’s insane,” I hissed back, my voice came out uneven, betraying me in a way I couldn’t control, like my composure had slipped the moment his lips touched mine.
And then, the booth attendant clapped his hands together like the whole thing was the grandest show he had ever hosted, his grin wide beaming with excitement.
“Perfect! That’s exactly the energy we want at the Marriage Booth. Now, time to make it official.”
He slid a certificate across the table.
My stomach dropped as the word sank in, like the ground beneath me had shifted without warning.
“Certificate?” I repeated, my voice coming out smaller than I intended.
“Of course!” the attendant said with a grin. “Every marriage needs one. Just sign your names here. Groom first,” he added, clearly entertained by the man in front of him.
He took the pen like he owned the world, his hand moving in slow, confident strokes, as if his name had always been meant for a man like him.
Draco Lusciano.
His name sprawled across the page in bold, commanding lines, as if it were carved into stone.
I swallowed hard, staring at the ink like it might rearrange itself into a nightmare I could escape.
Then he slid the pen towards me, his fingers brushing mine, and I froze as goosebumps rose across my skin and a shiver slipped down my spine.
When I looked up, those dark eyes held me like I was under a spell I couldn’t break.
“Your turn,” he said, his voice brushing over me like something I felt more than heard.
I wanted to scream no, tear the paper in half, and run before it turned into pure embarrassment.
But I didn’t move.
My nerves spiked, sweat breaking across my palms, and the way he looked at me only made it harder.
The crowd’s stares pressed in from every side, and Catleya’s excited cheers only made it worse, like there was no space left for me to breathe, let alone escape.
My hand trembled as I bent over the line.
The pen felt heavy in my grip, like my body didn’t fully agree with what I was doing, like I was signing my own death.
Slowly, ink bleeding with each stroke the moment I started to write.
Eve Elora Escuderi.
The booth erupted in noise again, the attendant clapped, grinning like this was the most entertaining thing he’d seen all day.
“And that makes it official! Congratulations to our newest husband and wife! Do you want a picture to remember this moment, a souvenir?”
I froze, blinking at the woman holding up a cheap instant camera. And my grip tightened around the bouquet in my hand, my heartbeat still stuck somewhere in my throat from the kiss, from the weight of everything that had just happened.
A photo? Something permanent?
That would make it worse, more real.
No, Absolutely not!
“N-No, that won’t be necessary, thank you,” I stammered, gripping the bouquet tighter.
Draco smirked, like my panic was something he found amusing.
“Scared of proof, Mrs. Lusciano?”
The words slid under my skin like a threat dressed up as a tease.
I turned to him too quickly, and the bouquet nearly smacking his chest. “Don’t call me that.”
He lifted a brow, clearly amused by my reaction. “Your new name?”
“You’re crazy,” I snapped.
“Do you want the picture or not?” the woman asked, already lowering the instant camera like she was ready to move on.
I opened my mouth,
“No need to ask,” Draco said before I could even form a protest. “We want the souvenir,” he added.
My head snapped toward him.
“What?”
But I didn’t even get to finish.
When his arms slid around me from behind.
His hold was warm and far too comfortable for someone who had no right touching me like that.
“Draco,” I protested, my whole body tensing at once. His name slipped out like we’d been formally introduced.
He didn’t answer me.
Instead, he simply pulled me closer like he had every right.
And somehow, the bouquet ended up between us, caught in both of our hands.
I tried to turn, to protest, to break free from the sudden closeness, but he only held me tighter.
“Relax,” he murmured near my ear, his breath brushing warm against my skin, like I was the one overreacting.
“I am relaxed,” I snapped in frustration, which only made it worse.
A click sounded.
And the light from the camera flashed.
And just like that,
I looked up at the exact wrong moment.
He kissed me, catching me in the middle of my protest.
Everything else fell silent for a second.
When the flash faded, I was still frozen in his arms, my lips still warm and slightly swollen from what had just happened.
Then the noise came rushing back, louder this time, swallowing the silence. Gasps, laughter, and stunned whispers spilled into the crowd.
“They actually kissed again?”
“Is this even real or staged?”
I felt heat crawl up my neck, not from him but from them, from all those watching eyes that made me feel humiliated.
I tried to step forward, to pull away, but his hold didn’t loosen, just enough to make me painfully aware he could play me this easily.
“Draco,” I hissed under my breath, panic threading through my voice now.
I felt him lean in slightly, like he was listening more to my reaction than my words.
“Yes, wife.” he said, amused, like he was testing how far he could push me.
And that only made it worse.
Oh my god… I was seconds away from losing my mind. All I wanted was to disappear from this university after this.
A few people near the front were already leaning in, trying to see the photo preview being pulled out of the instant camera.
Someone laughed. “That shot is insane.”
Then another voice, “They’re not even acting anymore…”
I finally managed to slip out of his arms, clutching the bouquet like it was the only thing keeping me grounded.
But the damage was already done. Because I could feel it. That look in the crowd was already giving me a headache.
The booth attendant shoved the certificate toward me again. “Please keep this safe, ma’am. Replacements cost extra.”
I stared at the paper in horror. “There are replacements?”
“Only for legally binding packages.”
My soul left my body for half a second.
I heard Catleya gasped. “There were packages?”
“It was a joke,” the attendant said quickly.
I wasn’t laughing. This wasn’t funny. This was a total disaster.
I thrust the certificate at Draco. “You keep it.”
He looked at the paper, then at me. “Why?”
“Because your name is bigger than mine.”
The corner of his mouth moved into a shadow of a smile, like the devil himself was already planning something worse.
“I’ll treasure it,” he said, clearly enjoying my reaction.
I glared. “Burn it.”
“Conflicting instructions, wife.”
“Stop calling me that.”
He stepped closer. Not enough to touch. Just enough to make me aware of every inch of space between us.
“We’re married. Why should I stop?” he said, his gaze dropping to my lips for a brief moment before lifting back to my eyes.
My brain went completely blank.
And Catleya made a sound like she might faint from happiness.
I hated everyone, especially Catleya for dragging me here.
I shoved past him before my body could embarrass me further. “I’m leaving.”
I made it three steps before his hand closed around my wrist, warm and firm. The sudden contact sent a spark up my arm.
I spun around. “Excuse me?”
His grip loosened immediately, but he didn’t let go.
“You forgot your flowers,” he said, lifting the bouquet I’d abandoned.
“I forgot my dignity too. Do you have that?”
His gaze dragged slowly over my face, unsettling me in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Of course. You already have my name.”
Catleya wheezed behind me. “I love him.”
“I don’t,” I said instantly.
Draco finally released my wrist and handed me the bouquet.
Our fingers brushed again.
I snatched the flowers like they had offended me personally.
“Thank you,” I muttered through clenched teeth.
“You’re welcome, my Eve.”
The way he said my name should have been illegal.
I took another step back. Then another.
Distance. I needed distance.
“Listen carefully,” I said, pointing my bouquet at him. “Whatever this was ends here. You go your way, I go mine, and we never speak again.”
His eyes dropped to the bouquet pointed at his chest.
Then back to me.
“Tempting offer.”
“It wasn’t an offer.”
He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sleek black card. No logo on the front. Just a number embossed in silver.
Before I could even react, he slid it into my bouquet.
“If you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“If you need something.”
“I don’t.”
“If you miss your husband.”
“I would rather stay single for the rest of my life.”
A boyish smile flickered across his face, just for a second, making my heart stumble for reasons I didn’t want to admit.
“Ouch,” he said, as if I’d just challenged him instead of insulted him. “I’ll wait for your call. About the honeymoon, I always have time.””
Then he turned and walked away.
I stood there for a second too long, staring at where he’d been. “That bastard’s got the nerve.”
The crowd parted for him without being asked.
And for one insane second, everyone watched him leave like he was someone important.
Maybe he thought he was.
Maybe everyone else did too.
“Oh my God, Eve! You’re married! This is the juiciest, craziest thing that’s ever happened.”
“Stop saying that!” I hissed, my entire face burning with embarrassment.
I looked down at the card wedged between the roses.
Catleya snatched it before I could stop her.
She read the number and gasped, loud enough to scare off a flock of pigeons nearby.
“Oh my Goddess.”
“What?”
She looked at me with the face of someone ready to ruin my life.
“Eve… do you know who Draco Lusciano is?”
My stomach dropped, like I already knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Unfortunately, no. And I don’t care about that psycho. All I want is to leave this place.”
“You’re a lucky b***h,” she said, smiling like the devil receiving good news.
- Writer
